Disney Wants Autistic Kids Lawsuit Tossed, Denies “Magic List” Exists

Looks like Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has no patience with waiting in line for a lawsuit claiming it violated the American With Disabilities Act to make its way through the courts. The division of the media giant bluntly hit back against complaint filed in early April by the families of children with developmental disorders over treatment at its parks. “Disney prays for the following relief,” said the 93-page response filed yesterday in federal court (read it here), “that the Plaintiffs take nothing by their Complaint … Plaintiff’s compliant be dismissed with prejudice in its entirety.”

In fact, in their repetitive point-by-point retort, Disney lawyers Rhonda Trotter and Daniel Paluch of LA firm Kaye Scholer LLP basically give short shrift to nearly all the allegations of violations of the ADA and Unruh Civil Rights Act from the large group of plaintiffs. The families say the violations occurred because of the introduction in October of a new and cumbersome to say the least Disability Access Service at the company’s theme parks and resorts including Disneyland. Long story short, the DAS left the children disrepected by park employees, stuck in long lines to which their conditions are unsuited and causing “meltdown behaviors.”

Among the various heartbreaking claims that stood out in the initial filing include Disney’s replacement of the longstanding and apparently much-loved Guest Assistance Card program, which was scrapped in an effort to stop unscrupulous scams, and claims of a very VIP “Magic List,” described as “a secret list of persons to whom Disney will automatically extend, without the stigma of a ‘Disability’ card, and without a mandatory photograph, and without the newly-ingrained disrespect of Disney employees, five immediate-entry, no-appointment ride passes.” The April 3 complaint said that could provide a solution to the waits and other inconveniences causing hardship to the children in question and their families. “Disney denies each and every allegation” of such a Magic List and its privileges in its response this week. Not much room for interpretation there.

Recent Comments

You can change FP times using your smart phone on the fly. They can't give special treatment...

Rick Doctrow

9 months

Disney is trying to confuse the court into thinking the two separate lines are the same. They...

Rick Doctrow

9 months

What no one seems to realize is there are two separate lines. The new policy accommodates those...

Actually, besides admitting that “this Court has federal question jurisdiction over the claims set forth in the Complaint,” and that it is a Florida-based corporation, the response filed on June 9 in U.S. District Court in California also rejects virtually everything else in the 176-page complaint filed by the families on April 3. And, with a remark that Disney “has a long-standing, unwavering commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment and accessible experience for guests with disabilities,” it does so rather bloodlessly. Leaving the claims of personal traumas unaddressed, the response says the plaintiffs’ points “constitute conclusions of law to which Disney is not required to respond” or are repeatedly noted; one example: “Disney lacks sufficient information or belief to admit or deny the allegations in Paragraph 22 of the Complaint, and on that basis denies them.”

Those rejections, of course, also include the damages and other relief that the plaintiffs are seeking. “To the extent the Prayer for Relief may be deemed to require a response, Disney denies each and every allegation in this paragraph (as well as the subparagraphs therein), and denies that monetary damages, litigation costs, prejudgment interest or any other relief sought is appropriate or required,” says the response specifically on the matter on money.

No hearing date has been set yet before Judge Manuel Real on the matter or Disney’s response.

46 Comments

That lawsuit should be thrown out. Disney is not in violation of the ADA at all. There are handicapped exits that people in wheelchairs and scooters still have access to. There are plenty of seating areas all over the parks. The GAC (Guest Assistance Card) was extremely nice of Disney to do, and legally they didn’t HAVE to allow what was allowed with that card. The new one is in full compliance with the ADA and people are just upset that they can’t skip lines anymore. It was a nice thing that disney was doing, however it is not a right of families with autistic children to be able to skip the line (I have an autistic sister who I’ve taken to DL). People were taking full advantage, and Disney had to crack down, but again they are in no way violating any laws by changing the system to what it is now.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

+1…..Have an autistic daughter and same story

Don't Make Me Stop This Car • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

“Meltdown behaviors?” Take a kid to Disneyland on a hot crowded day and that’s pretty much guaranteed, autistic or not. Why not think of it teaching opportunity for such seemingly forgotten values as “patience” and “waiting one’s turn”?

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

The FP+ is not something you buy — it is available to all guests with tickets. By combining FP+ and DAS, I do believe Disney has provided accommodations for many folks with disabilities. It probably won’t satisfy everyone but that is to be expected. The old system was being abused in a way that was insulting to people with real disabilities (i.e. Rich people renting a disabled person to get front of the line service is disgusting) and that needed to be stopped. This lawsuit needs to go — it is not a productive conversation and isn’t going to drive real change.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

The new systwm has excluded those who need access in and out of lines due to the nature of their disabilities and the flexiblility to return when they can due to their disabilities. Disabling cnditions are generally not predictable and can;’t be scheduled around. Seizures, Crons, allergic reations cannot be scheduled around. Yje GAC gave flexibility to ride rides and go to events when the disabled person could and rest when they could not. To have to schedule the times to go to rides day automatically excludes most people who have unpredictable health issues. The ADA give them the right to participate anywhere. Anyone who feels someone who can’t do the new system shouldn’t go, is the same as those in the south that disn’t allow black people on the frot of the bus. It is a civil rights issue. It does violate the ADA. Accommodations can not be a one fits all system and has to take into account individual needs for access. It is discriminatory to force a one fits all system.

AA • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

By combining a FP or FP+ with the DAS a family can get twice as many rides in one day then a typical park guest that does not have a disability. They will not change their minds, the lawsuit is going in the trash.

To the comment below, you’re horribly misinformed. The DAS allows you to come back anytime after your wait and FP times can be changed on the fly. You have essentially just argued yourself into a losing argument. On those same lines, legally, reasonable accommodations need to be made. Being able to wait outside the line and come back at anytime after your scheduled time are reasonable. Skipping a wait when waiting is part of the system is not, and not required legally at all. A grocery store provides EVCs to help mobility issues, but they don’t give you a worker to walk around with you and pull things off tall shelves. There are limits to accommodations and if you still can not participate when something has been fundamentally changed it’s not illegal.

Though the new system does work well for many, some are definitely being disenfranchised by the new system – among them, those with autism. This article politely calls the DAS system “cumbersome”, but the complexity of it may be deemed discriminatory in its very nature compared to the old GAC which was working well for this disabled class. It will then be incumbent upon Disney to prove the old system was impacted enough by “cheaters” and that the new system appropriately deals with many of the very disabled people it is intended to serve. I think this is a very good case to test the limits of accommodation and access. I would be very surprised to see it thrown out and am anxious to see the process play out here.

Honest Rob • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

aannnnnd as he said above, he HAS an autistic sister, yet feels the new program is fine. If your autistic child cannot wait in lines, it is not Disney’s responsibility to let you and your family cut the line. Sounds like a lot of entitlement in this lawsuit.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

There new system is what most theme parks offer now. Parents just upset because their snowflake can’t get them front of the line access.

They actually don’t have to prove that at all. Disney isn’t obligated to keep a system people prefer. They’re obligated to be in line with the law. They don’t need a reason to change it. In line with that, it was cheaters that caused the upheaval. It was users. It won’t be difficult to show how lines were affected by GAC users. As the GAC affects basic park operations (lines) the plaintiffs are asking for something the ADA doesn’t require. Following this, many of the plaintiffs have not gone to the parks and tried the new system. You can’t preemptively sue someone because you ‘just know’ how it’ll turn out.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Bull shit!!! If shed got out there in that heat and started twirling around slapping her ears and screaming out loud!!! From standing there to long or it being to dam hot… Scratching her ears or however some autistic children express there pain you would’ve one left…or took that family member home…They acting like they just dont plain want us there in there park!!! This is all Crap!!!

I can’t really decipher this mess of a comment. I’m assuming you’re saying your child will twirl and scream and so therefore, you shouldn’t have to wait in line. The only thing CRAP about this is that people like you expect everyone to burden themselves for you. Disney is providing an alternative to waiting in lines. An alternative that let’s you stay busy with other rides, shows, or meets and greets, or even hang out in the AC if you’ve decided to go during the blistering hear knowing it bothers your child. If this STILL isn’t acceptable, don’t go. They can’t hinder other people to give you exactly what you want. Where else do you complain about having to wait your damn turn? The grocery? The gas station? The school pick up line?

DD • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

The new system is not cumbersome at all. It’s worked well for my family and Disney excels compared to other theme parks out there.

Zach F. • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

I hope this frivolous lawsuit is thrown out as well. As someone who has been to Disney World several times with my younger brother who is autistic, they have always gone above and beyond in accommodation. This lawsuit just proves the sense of entitlement that has infected our culture. Disney’s new system does exactly what it needs to. If someone in your family is unable to handle those conditions, then don’t go to a Disney Park. Sorry people, but everyone isn’t entitled to everything. Before bringing my brother to the parks, my parents discussed and assessed if he’d be able to handle it. If it was too much for him, then we wouldn’t have returned, but it certainly wouldn’t be right to inconvenience everyone else who payed the same price just because we have a disabled family member.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Burnt out for that one honey!!!!! I dont take myself or my daughter because of ignorance like this!!! Everyone is not the same and thats not fair to your family member at Alll!!! Smdh…

Sc • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Fair? Of course you are probably someone that advertises your daughters special need in order to gain sympathy and any and everything anyone is willing to give. All a place has to do is make accessible…. how would you feel I’d other special needs kids were given priority to rides over your daughter because of their disability and your daughter was left crying on the sidewalk???

The world isn’t going to become some perfect place for every disability. There are limits on what business can do without negatively affecting other patrons.

Kdellio • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

I can certainly see how you would be enraged by the reasonable response of Zach F. So much better to throw fits and cause scenes in front of crowds. Bet that makes a disabled kid feel “special.” You are quite a piece of work. I feel for your daughter being exposed to your level of rage, entitlement and bitterness.

AA • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Amen

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

My brother, sil and their 2 sons one of which autistic just came back from Disney World and they bought something called a fast pass that with a little extra planning guarantees a wait time of 15 min or less. There is a solution to every dilemma, cheap parent’s forget the guest access was a privilege and courtesy, not a right.

James • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

You don’t buy fastpasses. They are free and available to all park guests. But you’re right, they are a great solution, for those attractions that use Fastpass (some don’t).

jon snow • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Disney needs to be more friendly to those with disabilities, they were incredible helpful to those with disabilities and now they have gone to far to the other extreme and are hostile to those with true disabilities

My son cannot wait for more than 10 minutes in line. He has major anxiety, a primary component of children with autism. But he wants to have fun, just like anyone else. He knows when he is rejected. Why not have a form on the Website that a doctor can fill out to validate disability if Disney is so intent on “weeding out” scammers. Parents can fill them out before going to the park, scan in the doctor’s signature and be issued a card. Even better, go back to card request at the park. Airlines have cards for first boarding – all I have to do is ask when I get to the gate. It is better to let 10 people scam than to deny one child with autism entry (equivalent to letting 10 people go free rather than convicting an innocent person). Settle the suit and make changes the parents want – this many parents cannot be wrong about the onerous nature of the new policy toward children with autism. Don’t be a bully, Disney.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

ADA say equal access not special access. Disney is now doing what most theme parks do. Disney will not lose this lawsuit and the losers will have to pay legal fees.. Can’t wait for that.

AA • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Those fee’s are going to astronomical I bet! I see no problem with the DAS system at Disney and I really don’t get this entitlement attitude.

First of all, they cannot require proof – the Americans with Disabilities Act says you cannot require proof of a disability in order to provide equal access.
Secondly, anyone can fake a doctors note and signature, or, get their real doctor to fill out a form even when they don’t one.
Third, the new system allows children to wait OUTSIDE THE LINE. They are not forced to stand in long lines and wait. They get a return time and come back to ride when their appointment is. It’s actually a pretty decent system. The people in the lawsuit are just angry that their “unlimited fastpass” got taken away…because that’s really what the old system was, just an unlimited fastpass.

AA • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Carole, I think you have it all wrong. Disney is ADA complaint. Equal access not special access. Your son doesn’t have to wit in LINE. D not be dramatic your son is not being “rejected”. If you don’t like the system Disney has go to a different theme park. You will find they all have a similar system, some even charge for it.

Sarah Grable • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Carole, “this many parents cannot be wrong”? There are SIXTEEN children/young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities represented in the lawsuit, not the outraged hundreds or thousands you imagine. If you read the actual lawsuit -which I have- in some parts they complain about not being treated differently enough (1) all disabilities are addressed the same, since it is illegal for Disney to ask any information about the nature of anyone’s disability, or to even look at information which is voluntarily offered by a park guest seeking entry, (2) DAC users now should expect wait times comparable to those of the standard lines; yet in other places complain about being treated differently (3) the term “DISABLED” on the cards, (4) photographs taken every new 2-week period a DAC is used [I am sure this is to weed out cheating the system by using someone else’s card].

Bottom line, the new DAC meets the legal requirements of ADA, but is not as preferential to the Access participants as the previous, heavily abused GAC program. That does not make a lawsuit.

Amanda • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

So 9? 9 parents can’t be wrong? The vast majority of the public completely agrees with Disney, special needs parents included. The fact that you would rather 10 scammers get in if 1 SN child could bypass the line speaks volumes. You are clearly incapable of looking at the complications to that from a business level.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Carole, how is waiting in one seat different than waiting in another. The plane isn’t taking off until everyone is loaded. How is boarding first and having other passengers brush past him as they loudly cram their luggage Ito overhead bins somehow soothing to a Autistic child. This is more about the entitlement attitude of the special needs parents. How about we force Disney World to open a special needs park to better deal with these situations… Oh wait! That won’t work! If everyone is SN there won’t be anyone to cut in line of. They’re all kids. Since when does special needs mean special privileges

bfj • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Actually, I board my son with autism early so as NOT to inconvenience other passengers. We get the front row if we can so that his constant moving around doesn’t jostle the people in rows in front of us. I board early to ensure that he can sit with his mother and brother and not have our family separated on the plane because that causes major anxiety, and anxiety creates behaviors. I board early to get him buckled in and ready to go, so he doesn’t have a meltdown or tantrum and cause everyone else on the plane to have to hear it and deal with it.

I found Disney’s DAC card extremely helpful when we would go and I don’t think the new system would work for my son. To be able to go on any ride when we wanted makes the trip to WDW much easier. I don’t view is as being entitled, I view it as a necessity to make WDW accessible to my family. Believe me, I would rather have a child without autism and gladly wait in 90 minute lines. However, that isn’t my situation. If my son wants to go on the Peter Pan ride, going to the ride and being told that we would need to come back in 45 minutes to get on just doesn’t work for my family. The DAC card was the best way for us to enjoy the park. It is a shame that people took advantage of the system and ending up ruining it for families who really need it.

I appreciate the reaction of some of you who are annoyed that parents of autistic children are complaining. Walk a mile in our shoes and you may understand what we are saying. We want the same things for our kids that you want for yours, but there needs to be some fair accommodations for kids with autism. The new pass doesn’t achieve that, in my opinion. I never abused our pass. When my neuro-typical son and I would go to rides, we would wait in lines just like everyone else.

I never felt entitled to this pass. I was glad that WDW saw the need and understood how having the DAC made WDW a place for all kids to enjoy.

The law disagrees with you. As a parent of an autistic child I’ve ‘walked a mile in your shoes’ and think the idea that you should be able to walk up to any ride as you see fit and gain near immediate access is absurd. Grow up. For children that can not handle a line atmosphere they still do not need to. The fact that people are causing such a stink about waiting their turn is beyond ridiculous. What other places do you expect this type of red carpet roll out? If there is a line at the grocery do you demand to be taken to the front? Life doesn’t work like that. Lines are accessible for wheelchairs, but if a user comes alone and can’t push themselves through that line is it now not accessible? Do they deserve a cast member to push them through because it’s their right? Absolutely not.

The bottom line is that Disney’s implementation of the DAS is perfectly legal and in line with other parks. There are too many people with autism and other ailments to allow the bypassing of the main line. It hinders the operation of the ride via the flow of the line. As parents of children with challenges, we always have to evaluate places and gauge the accommodation to see if our kids can make it work. Disney is no different.

mc • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Many in the special needs community know for a fact that for decades, Disney provided what would best be described as preferential treatment for their disabled guests. Through misuse and abuse, it has been taken away and replaced with a less advantageous, yet equally ADA compliant, alternative. That may be reason to be saddened and frustrated, but it’s nowhere near legally actionable. Unfortunately, those who filed this suit, who are understandably emotional about the situation, were sold a bill of goods by their obviously overzealous legal council. Truth is, this suit will never see the inside of a courtroom.

We had a chance to try out the DAS during our trip to Walt Disney World in May.

The main limitation is that you are only able to have one reservation at a time which I could definitely see being less than helpful to people whose autistic traveling companions have more severe symptoms often associated with autism. Fortunately for us our autistic son has never been prone to meltdowns and is generally a very amicable and easygoing child despite his issues so this wasn’t so bad for us.

The other limitation in comparison to a FastPass is that the reservation time is always ten minutes before when you would arrive at the front of the line if you had to go on the standby line. I don’t mind that you can’t get on before the time you would have had to wait, but I think a slight change to the system where you could have more than one reservation time would be more helpful to those people who have more severe symptoms.

On the other hand, the sometimes helpful aspect of the DAS is that there is no time limit on when you can use the reservation: you’re able to come back anytime after the reservation start time although obviously you can’t obtain another reservation without using the existing one or canceling it. With FastPass reservations, you have to get to the attraction within the one hour window or lose the reservation.

One of the drawbacks of the FastPass system that the DAS does not impose on users is that you _have_ to start off with three reservations and cannot add another one until all three of them have been used up. With the advanced registration option, which can be quite a useful feature for those who are buying passes well in advance, it’s almost guaranteed that many people will try to set up FastPass reservations on the day of their visit and find many of the popular rides either locked out entirely or _even worse_ available only towards the end of the day (which means you cannot make another FastPass reservation until the day is almost over).

All in all, the DAS worked better than I thought it would when they first announced it (and provided few details and examples as to how it would actually work). It’s obviously not as “empowering” as the GAC, but it’s far from the “death sentence” some originally made it out to be. I admittedly thought it would be really bad based on some of the initial knee jerk reactions, but it wasn’t horrible. Of course, as I said earlier my son is much milder on many of the symptoms often attributed to autism than most autistic people so I can’t really speak to how this would work for the family of someone who was much more severely autistic.

Ultimately, I think with just a few tweaks the system could work pretty well for most special needs guests:

1. Allow for more than one reservation on the DAS. Three like with the FastPass system would be great, but even a second reservation would make a big difference.

2. Track the DAS online like with FastPass rather than with a card that people jot times on. This would allow guests who need to use it to more easily make reservations. Right now, if you want to reserve a time for, say, Dumbo and you’re in Adventure Land you’ve got to go all the way across the park to make that reservation with the DAS whereas with the FastPass system you can just hit one of the kiosks strewn throughout the parks. This would also enable the next tweak.

3. Allow guests who need to use the DAS to make reservations ahead of time like with the FastPass system. I’m sure that one of the arguments against digitizing the DAS system is that it means anyone could go ahead and reserve it without having already been “examined” by a Disney rep upon first entry to the first park in the trip, but then again _anyone_ can use the DAS… like before, the rep doesn’t request any proof of disability but rather just snaps a photo of the guest. They wouldn’t even need to forego these steps… allow people to make their first DAS reservation of each day ahead of time online, but require that their DAS be validated on their first day before it can be used. As an engineer in the computing industry I know this is not a difficult problem to solve.

4. Fix the online system for FastPass. It’s ridiculous that while you can make your advance reservations each day well ahead of time (months, even) via the website or the mobile app, once you’ve burned through those three starting reservations you _have_ to go to a physical kiosk to schedule any further reservations. Guests should be able to use a computer or their mobile devices to schedule these reservations. There’s no reason that a guest should be forced to go to one of these locations in a day and age where everything is mobile. Granted, there are a decent number of these kiosks so it’s not like you need to walk 15 minutes to find one, but really in modern times you should be able to do this from your smartphone.

With these tweaks, I think that the experience would be better for everyone and those of us with special needs family members will have no reasonable basis for anymore complaints (aside from those unfortunate to have family with much more severe disabilities in which case we _should_ be better people and just accommodate them).

JJ Evans • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

As someone who is disabled and has been going to Disney for years, I have to agree to the fact that they needed to clamp down. Too many fat & lazy men & women were renting ECV’s and cutting the lines in the guise of being “disabled”. Have any of you see how many people are actually using them now? While the check-in process has flaws that need to be worked out, a lawsuit is a joke. Take your autistic child off the line, check in with the return time and come back later. Give me a break.

Anonymous • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

“Repetitive point-by-point retort?” All complaints and answers are like that, you have to do them that way to get your arguments considered.

Rick Doctrow • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

What no one seems to realize is there are two separate lines. The new policy accommodates those with ada issues in the one line (standby) but does NOTHING to accommodate those in the second line (fastpass+) I think the new Disney policy fixes the issues that people with special needs have with the STANDBY LINE. Basically instead of waiting in a standby line you can come back when they think you would have gotten to the front if you had waited in line. Although in fairness the standby times are usually longer than the actual times. It seems they would rather err on the side of saying the wait is longer than it really is than by having the wait be longer than what they said it would be. So really the new policy should address this and I’m guessing that’s why the return time for those with the new policy card is 10 minutes less than the posted standby time. The area where the new policy fails is the new fastpass+ system. There is NO ACCOMMODATION ! You simple use the same system as everyone else. The new fast pass + system is very rigid and requires reservations that sometimes need to be made 60 days in advance. If someone with special needs can’t make it on time they lose the reservation. Disney is doing nothing to accommodate those with ada issues when it comes to fastpass+. I imagine the people suing disney are upset because not only is disney nothing to fix the ada issues with fastpass+ but they have the ability to do so, since VIP’S now can use the fastpass+ system in ways regular customers cannot. With a few keystrokes Disney can basically turn a VIP fastpass+ into an all access front of line pass.
This proves that Disney has the ability to accommodate in some way ADA people when it comes to the fastpass+ line but are not. (continued)

Rick Doctrow • on Jul 10, 2014 11:52 am

Disney is trying to confuse the court into thinking the two separate lines are the same. They are not. I didn’t “get this” myself until just now. I thought the lawsuit was frivolous because the new system seems to address the issues fairly. However if you think of there being TWO LINES and two issues then you can see that the new policy only fixes one of the lines but not the other. I think Disney needs to find an ada solution to the Fastpass+ system such as having 4 or 5 anytime/any ride fastpass+ reservations or a more liberal late policy on the existing system for those with ada issues.